One of Hurricane Laura's Victims is No Longer With Us

Hurricane Laura was a category 4 storm that hit our area in August 2020.  A little more than four years after Hurricane Laura blew through Southwest Louisiana and we're looking at another one (Hurricane Francine).  This one yesterday showed coming directly for Jennings, LA, where we live.  With the latest update, it appears the storm is projected to hit somewhere around Morgan City at 7 PM tomorrow night.

For Hurricane prep, we always secure things in the yard and barn, make sure we have water and gasoline on hand, tie anything down that can blow and cause damage and prepare for power outages.  We're still preparing, but it looks like for now we are "outside the cone."  That's good news for us but bad news for whoever gets it.  One positive thing is that there is a strong ridge sitting right on the coast from a cool front.  Experts say that once the storm gets closer, wind shear will tear Hurricane Francine apart and she'll weaken in strength.  They project a category 1 storm with 90 mph sustained winds at landfall.

In Lake Charles, one monument still stood for four years as a testimony of the destructive force of Hurricane Laura.  I still call it the Calcasieu Marine Tower, but it changed to Hibernia Tower and I think most recently Capital One Tower.  Whatever its name, it had to come down.  It was an eyesore.  I was last in the building in 2017 when I had to go get a TWIC card for my job.  Other than the communication antennas on its roof, the building was empty.  Here is a photo I took of the building in July.  You can see all the windows that were blown out and had been patched with plywood.

Well, a demolition crew was hired and this past Saturday morning at 8 AM, the building was set to come down.  It was quite a sight.  You can click the arrow below and watch the demolition.  I came down perfectly.

That building was the skyline of Lake Charles, sitting right on the lake beside the Civic Center.  With it gone, it looks totally different.  As I understand, there are plans to revitalize the downtown area.  Hurricanes are a display of the might and destruction of nature.  We hope to not see anything like Hurricane Laura ever again!

Tomorrow Marks the Anniversary

August 27th.  On that date last year, Hurricane Laura, a destructive hurricane hit the coastline of Louisiana.  It is tied for first place as the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States.  Friends and neighbors are still recovering, still not in their homes after a year.  Buildings are destroyed and still await repair.  It seems like an eternity ago in some ways, but in other ways - just like yesterday.  The wound, though scabbed over, is still tender.  I posted about Hurricane Laura Here and Here.  

So one year later, to quote Yogi Berra, "It's deja vu all over again."  Happy Anniversary!  We are yet again "in the cone."  Tropical Storm Ida.  We are beginning to prepare.  We have checklists and things we do in advance of tropical weather.  We'll enact our plan.

In looking at the projection below, this thing is projected to become a hurricane at 2PM on Saturday and hit Sunday at 2PM.  We live in Jennings.  On the map below, Jennings is directly below the "LA" and sits about 35 miles from the coast.  Last year, at this point in time, they were pretty accurate in the storm's track.  They were 'off' on the category and strength of the storm.

We'll pray and prepare.  We aren't afraid. We serve a God who created all and One who the winds and waves obey Him.  Whatever happens, His grace is sufficient.  We trust in Him.  We will keep in touch with you a little later.

We Survived Hurricane Laura

We're back!  We survived Hurricane Laura.  In the next several posts, I'll report on what's been going on.  In the last post before going silent, I reported about the impending storm.  We hunkered down that night, preparing for the arrival of severe tropical weather.  As we walked outside prior to the storm, we noticed an eerie phenomenon of dragonflies swarming.  I've never seen this before.  It was as if they were predicting some bad weather and were taking flight to evacuate.

It became nightfall as the weather deteriorated.  There's something about a bad storm at night that makes it worse.  The sounds of the wind howling, things banging into the house, and then the beeping of electronics as the power goes out.  Tricia and I and Russ and Benjamin rode it out in our room.  We were silent at times and then prayed many times as the storm reached it's crescendo around 2 am.  It seemed as if things didn't begin to settle down until around 4 am. 

I went outside and walked around in the high wind around 5:30.  I quickly realized that was not a good decision and got back inside.  In the morning we walked around and surveyed the damage.  We were blessed.  Our home was spared.  We have many large limbs and branches down and will not have to worry about firewood this year.

The top half of a Chinaberry tree fell across the gate in the back, crushing it.  We quickly bent it back into shape so that the cows, goats, and chickens could not get out.

The powerful storm stripped the leaves off of the trees, leaving (pardon the pun) the ground full of leaves for the goats to devour.

So although we were slightly on the east side of the storm's path, we escaped a lot of the damage that our friends, family and co-workers experienced nearby.  At Our Maker's Acres Family Farm, we've been 'radio silent' for a little over a week for several reasons.  We were without electrical service for a little over a week.  The second reason is that I work for an oil company that distributes fuel, oil, and lubes.  We are required to go to work shortly after the winds stop blowing to return to work and get fuel (mainly diesel) to run generators to begin the rebuilding process.  Recovery doesn't take place unless fuel is delivered and tanks are constantly filled. 

Once the power grid goes down, generators fueled by diesel keeps people and perishables cool, and allows people to work to remove debris and wreckage and then rebuild.  Our recovery is not powered by wind and solar.  After a week, our electrical power was restored, but not in Sulphur, Louisiana, where I work.  My coworkers lost their homes and barns.  They don't have electricity or running water.  We've been working 18 hour days to try to meet an impossibly large demand for fuel.  Tonight I'm home a little early, but the work continues for the foreseeable future without an end in sight.

I'll post as often as my work schedule allows.  Thanks for checking in on us!

I May Be Silent for a Few Days

I wanted to let you know that we haven't fallen off the face of the earth.  Hopefully, we will be back in contact soon.  Hurricane Laura will be visiting us, making landfall in the early morning hours of Thursday.

If projections hold, we'll be affected.  I'm not worried so much about the water, but the wind concerns me.  We're protecting things as best we can.  I have a job that keeps me away from home, especially in dire weather situations.  Benjamin helped Tricia move the baby chicks in the garage to safety and helped her batten down the hatches.

We'll likely be out of power for a while, so I will post as soon as I can.  We will be praying and I covet your prayers for all in the way of this storm.  Reminds me of this:

Matthew 8:24-27

24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. 25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” 26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. 27 The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Regardless the outcome, we place our trust in Him.  He is the Master of the Sea.  In this world, we are never promised a life without calamity.  In fact, quite the opposite.  But He does promise never to leave us or forsake us.  And He'll help us weather whatever storm we're facing.